£736k Funding Secured to Tackle Homelessness

25-Jan-2017

Huntingdonshire District Council, and a partnership of local authorities and other public sector organisations covering Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, has made a successful bid to the government’s Homelessness Trailblazer fund.

The partnership successfully secured funding of £736,000 over the next two years to tackle homelessness across Cambridgeshire. The main focus will be on spotting early warning signs and improving co-ordination between the various agencies to enable them to intervene earlier and provide the appropriate support to help prevent homelessness.

Emphasis will also be placed on working closely with landlords to help them maintain tenancies, resolve any problems with tenants and avoid evictions wherever possible.

The partnership’s bid was successful as it demonstrated a willingness to test new, innovative approaches to preventing homelessness across a range of organisations. The partnership will also work with the Department for Communities and local government to build an evidence base as to what are the most successful prevention measures.

Cllr Ryan Fuller, Executive Councillor for Housing and Regulatory Services, said: "The award of this funding to combat homelessness is excellent news for Huntingdonshire. We have long recognised that early help, support and intervention is key to preventing homelessness, and Huntingdonshire District Council has been successfully proactive in this regard. However, it is unacceptable that anybody should be faced with the fear of homelessness and with this funding more can be done to ensure that we remain at the forefront of tackling the issue. It will help develop a wider network of organisations that will work with families to identify the early warning signs that may lead to homelessness and offer co-ordinated support and action to avoid a crisis situation developing.

"The funding will also provide a service to support private sector landlords – helping them resolve problems that may otherwise lead to them giving notice to their tenants. This is an increasing cause of homelessness both locally and nationally and we aim to support landlords and tenants in solving problems that could lead to someone losing their home."